View full sizeBrett Duke, The Times-Picayune archiveHiring a private company to manage and maintain the St. John the Baptist Parish public school bus fleet was proposed as a cost-saving measure for the district.

The administration brought the idea of hiring a private company to manage and maintain its bus fleet to the School Board in April as a cost-saving measure for the district. The School Board agreed to seek proposals and then decide whether to move forward with the plan based on how much it would save.

The lone proposal was from First Student, a national management company that recently took over the bus fleet in neighboring St. James Parish. It shows that the district would save $3,283 a year on management and maintenance labor for a five-year contract.

However, school district Finance Director Felix Boughton said that amount does not include what the district would have to pay to renovate an old bus-maintenance building near the former Leon Godchaux Junior High that the company would use as a maintenance facility. The company is asking the district to pay for utilities and to include air-conditioned office space. In addition to concerns about those costs, Boughton said the company's use of the building could cause problems because the district's maintenance department currently uses the facility and would have to be moved elsewhere.

Other parts of the proposal caused concerns as well. First Student also stated that it could renegotiate its prices if the district does not upgrade the fleet. It also would bill parts separately at First Student's cost plus 10 percent.

Boughton said the uncertainties mean the district probably will abandon the idea, at least until its financial situation improves. The district is putting together its fiscal year 2011-12 budget but expects another lean year.

At the School Board's meeting next week, Boughton will recommend rejecting the proposal from First Student and readvertising for the maintenance of the buses. The school district currently contracts with two local mechanics, Haston Lewis Sr. and A.O. Williams, for the service. Those contracts are set to expire in December.

A contract with First Student would have included a computerized routing system "to ensure as few buses as possible are utilized to transport students," according to the proposal. The company stated such a system could result in a 5 percent to 10 percent reduction in the number of routes, based on results from other school districts the size of St. John. It estimated that the district would save between $30,000 and $35,000 per route eliminated.